Trough shifting and dumping apparatus



' Aug. 8, 1967 J. R. WALKER THOUGH SHIFTING AND DUMPING APPARATUS Filed July .17, 1964 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,334,683 TROUGH SHIFTING AND DUMPING APPARATUS John R. Walker, Jefferson County, Ala., assignor to United States Pipe and Foundry Company, Birmingham, Ala., a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 17, 1964, Ser. No. 383,27 3 Claims. (Cl. 164301) This invention relates to improvements in centrifugal casting apparatus for use in casting tubular articles. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for supporting the pouring trough of a pipe casting machine so that it may be rotated to dump out the iron splinter remaining after a pipe has been cast.

When casting pipe by the deLavaud process, the metal is distributed along the length of the mold by means of a long pouring trough which extends for substantially the full length of the mold. As the metal flows from the end of the trough, the mold and/ or trough is moved longitudinally to cause the spout of the trough to traverse the length of the mold. After each casting cycle, a splinter of metal remains in the trough. It is usual practice to remove this splinter manually with the aid of tongs or a metal bar. This operation is slow and the time required varies from cycle to cycle. Accordingly, the removal of the splinter by manual means prevents the attainment of maximum casting rates consistently which is desirable if eflicient automation is to be realized.

It is also desirable when a coating is sprayed on the mold before each pipe is cast that the trough be moved transversely out of alignment with the mold and that a spray lance be moved into alignment with the mold. This permits the preparation of the mold and trough simultaneously for the next casting operation.

The object of the present invention is the provision of a trough supporting means which permits the trough to be rotated to a position wherein the splinter is dumped from the pouring trough.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a trough support which permits rotation of the pouring trough together with means for rotating the trough.

A still further object is the provision of a dump trough arrangement which can be moved transversely with respect to the axis of the-casting machine.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be evident from the following description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional side view of the pouring end of a pipe casting machine showing the trough supporting and rotating apparatus of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a view taken along line 11-11 and shows the means for coupling the rotating means to the trough.

In FIGURE 1, the spigot end of a deLavaud pipe casting machine is represented by the end portion 1 of a pipe mold which is rotatably mounted in a water box which in turn is mounted in a carriage. The carriage permits the mold to be moved over and to be retracted from the pouring trough 2. The complete mold, surrounding water box, and supporting carriage are not shown since such structures are well known in the art and are not part of the present invention. The pouring trough 2, only the mounted end section of which is shown, can be of any known construction which can be overturned without damage. Preferably, the trough is of the construction illustrated in United States patent application Ser. No. 341,056, filed I an. 29, 1964, and assigned to the assignee of the present application.

The apparatus of the present invention supports the trough 2 and is mounted adjacent machine ladle 3. The trough 2 is mounted in one end of trough support 4 and secured in place by welds. The trough support comprises 3,334,683 Patented Aug. 8, 19 67 a horizontal tubular member, the top of which is cut away to provide an opening to receive pouring chute 5. The pouring chute abuts against the end of trough 2 and directs the molten metal from the machine ladle 3 into the trough. The end of trough support 4, adjacent the machine ladle, is provided with an axle stub 6.

The trough support 4 is mounted in bearings on shifter plate 7 by means of bearing brackets 8 and 9. The axle stub 6 on the left hand end of support 4 passes through bearing bracket 8 and a ball bearing unit 10 mounted thereon. The other end of the trough is supported in a half circle bushing type bearing 11 mounted in yoke bracket 9. Afiixed to the end of axle stub 6 is a block 12 on which are mounted two side by side cam rollers 13. These cam rollers are aligned in the horizontal plane and are mounted one on each side of the axis of rotation of the trough support 4. When trough 2 is aligned with ladle 3, these rollers bear against the underside of the horizontal flange of the angle iron 14 as shown in solid lines in FIG- URE 2. The angle iron 14 keeps the trough support from rotating and acts as a guide when the trough is shifted.

The bearing brackets 8 and 9 are mounted on shifter plate 7 and the proper vertical positioning of support 4 is obtained by use of shims 15 and 16. Since the pouring trough is mounted in cantilever fashion on shifter plate 7 it is necessary to support the rear of the shifter plate by means of rollers 17 which ride against the underside of an inverted rail 18 whereas the front end of the shifter plate is supported by rollers 19 which ride on rail 20 in the normal manner. The shifter plate 7 is movable along rails 18 and 20 by means of hydraulic cylinder 21 from a position wherein the trough is aligned with the mold 1 to a position wherein it is aligned with the axis of rotation of rotor 25. If the apparatus is to be used in an operation wherein the mold is coated before each pipe is cast, aspray lance (not shown) will be mounted on shifter plate 7 in parallel arrangement with trough 2 so that it will be aligned with the mold 1 when the trough is aligned with rotor 25. I

Rotor 25 can be any suitable drive means which can be preset to rotate forward and reverse through a predetermined angle. It is mounted to one side of the machine ladle 3 vn'th its axis of rotation parallel to the axis of rotation of support 4. The shaft 22 of the rotor is provided with coupling block 23 that has a horizontal groove 24 cut across its free end face. This groove is of a proper size to receive cam rollers 13 and to peimit them to freely roll therein, and the rotor is positioned so that coupling block 23 is adjacent the end of angle iron 14 with the groove 24 in the path of cam rollers 13, so that the angle iron guides the cam rollers into the coupling block when the trough is shifted. In other words, when the shifter plate 7 is shifted to move the pouring trough 2 out of alignment with the mold, the cam rollers 13 roll along the underside of the horizontal flange of angle iron 14, and when they come to the end of the angle iron they roll into the groove 24. This is indicated by cam rollers 13 shown in dash lines in FIGURE 2, and in this position the rotors axis of rotation coincides with that of the trough support.

In operation, the pouring chute and trough are aligned with the mold and machine ladle and the mold is positioned over the pouring trough at the start of a casting cycle. The machine ladle is then dumped at a controlled rate to cause a stream of metal to flow down the pouring trough. As metal pours from the end of the pouring trough, the mold is retracted from the trough to distribute the metal along the length of the mold. After a preset time, the machine ladle drive reverses to cut off the flow of metal down the trough, and as the last of the metal flows from the trough the end of the trough clears the end of the mold. However, as is usually the case in retroactive pouring casting, a small amount of metal remains in the bottom of the trough and upon solidifying, forms the splinter which must be removed after each pipe is cast.

The described apparatus greatly simplifies and speeds up the removal of the splinter, and in addition permits a single trough man ample time to carefully clean the trough and skim the machine ladle before the next pipe is cast. As soon as the end of the mold clears the pouring trough, hydraulic cylinder 21 moves the shifter plate to one side of the machine ladle. The cam rollers 13 roll along angle iron 14 until they come to coupling block 23 when they enter into groove 24. The stroke of cylinder 21 is set to stop the shifter plate 7 with the axis of rotation of trough support 4 in alignment with the axis of rotation of rotor 25.

Rotor 25 is then activated, and as drive shaft 22 turns through a preset angle, coupling block 23 acts on cam rollers 13 and rotates the trough support 4 together with (chute and trough 2. As the trough 2 overturns, the metal remaining therein, whether liquid or solid, is dumped out. Rotor 25 is immediately reversed and the trough 2 is returned to the upright position where the trough man can prepare it for the next casting operation.

In the meantime, since the trough is not in the path of the mold, the solidified pipe in the mold can be extracted and the mold prepared for the next casting operation. Because the trough man is not interrupted by the extraction operation and because he does not have to cool the splinter in the trough and remove it manually, he is afforded ample time to prepare the trough and skim the machine ladle without any delays in the starting of the next casting cycle. Accordingly, the operation of the casting machine can be set on a preset automatic time cycle insofar as the trough man is concerned. At the proper time in the casting cycle, hydraulic cylinder 21 is reversed, and the pouring trough is returned to its original position in alignment with the machine ladle and the mold.

For operations in which the mold is spray coated, the spray lance is mounted in parallel relation with the pouring trough 2 on the shifter plate 7. Its axis is spaced from the axis of the pouring trough by a distance equal to the stroke of hydraulic cylinder 21 so that it will be in alignment with the mold when the pouring trough is aligned with rotor 21. When the solidified pipe in the mold is held stationary and the mold is withdrawn therefrom, the mold is moved over the spray lance. The mold is then sprayed as it is withdrawn from the lance, and at the same time it is moved into a position where the bell core can be set in place.

While the invention has been described by illustration and description of a presently preferred embodiment, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the details shown. Various modifications of structure and operatingprocedure will be obvious to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing in any way from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for dumping and shifting a trough of a centrifugal pipe casting machine of the retractive pour type wherein molten metal is distributed along a substantially horizontal pipe mold by relative longitudinal movement between said mold and said trough comprising a shifter plate movable transversely of the longitudinal axis of said mold, said trough being rotatably mounted on said shifter plate, means for shifting said shifter plate between a first position wherein said trough is substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of said mold and a second position wherein said trough is substantially parallel with and transversely spaced from the longitudinal axis of said mold, means for preventing rotation of said trough when in said first position, and means for rotating said trough when in said second position.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means for preventing rotation of said trough comprises two rollers, one mounted on each side of the axis of rotation of said trough which bear against a horizontal guide except when said shifter plate is in said second position.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means for rotating said trough comprises a rotor having its axis of rotation aligned with the axis of rotation of said trough when the shifter plate is in said second position, the rotor shaft being provided with a coupling block adapted to receive said rollers and transmit the rotation of the rotor shaft to the trough through said rollers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,309,823 7/ 1919 Stokes 22-65 1,621,380 3/1927 Ruder. 1,626,342 4/ 1927 "Hurst et a1. 22-65 1,942,919 1/ 1934 Eurich et a1. 2265 FOREIGN PATENTS 722,112 7/ 1942 Germany. 469,735 3/1952 Italy.

I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

R. S. ANNEAR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR DUMPING AND SHIFTING A TROUGH OF A CENTRIFUGAL PIPE CASTING MACHINE OF THE RETRACTIVE POUR TYPE WHEREIN MOLTEN METAL IS DISTRIBUTED ALONG A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PIPE MOLD BY RELATIVE LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID MOLD AND SAID TROUGH COMPRISING A SHIFTER PLATE MOVABLE TRANSVERSELY OF THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID MOLD, SAID TROUGH BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SHIFTER PLATE, MEANS FOR SHIFTING SAID SHIFTER PLATE BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION WHEREIN SAID TROUGH IS SUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID MOLD AND A SECOND POSITION WHEREIN SAID TROUGH IS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH AND TRANSVERSELY SPACED FROM THE LONGITUDINAL 